They must now come to terms with the decimation of their club on the eve of what should have been its finest moment.

On Wednesday night, tiny Chapecoense were due to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional. Virtually an entire squad of players, the coaching staff and a raft of directors have now perished in tragic circumstances and the inescapable, incomprehensible grief was visible on the faces of those players who didn't travel and the fans who gravitated to the club's headquarters to try and express their helplessness and distress.

People gather at Chapecoense's stadium praying for good news about teammates and relatives (Photo: Igor Damo/Facebook)

"We are gathered at the stadium," announced the club's vice-president Ivan Tozzo.

"We welcome all people who are affected, people who love Chapecoense."

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"Pray for my teammates," tweeted Alejandro Martinuccio, one of Chapecoense's two overseas players, who was left out of the squad with an injury. The former Villarreal forward kicked a dustbin to the ground as he arrived, glassy-eyed, at the club's base.

Others prayed at the shrine in their changing room.

"I can't believe it," defender Demerson told local reporters. The 30-year-old was simply left out of the squad.

"It can't be true," said Nenem. Distraught players gathered in the changing rooms in silence while fans wept outside.

Back-up goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck, who didn't travel, was given permission to miss the trip because it was his birthday, his agent has revealed.

"Lifelong friends were on that flight. It looks unlikely that many survived," added Plinio David de Nes Filho, the president of the club's board.

"This was not just a group founded on mutual respect; it was a family.